The discussion throughout this specification comes about due to the realisation of the inventor.
There are applications which mandate a small sized label for identification and/or pricing purposes. These labels are typically printed and/or handwritten. The identification and processing of these labels is done manually which is both time consuming and prone to error. Often the labelled items are both stacked on each other for logistical and storage purposes and placed individually on shelving for display purposes.
By way of example only, one such application according to the present invention is jewelry where labels attached to jewelry for identification and tracking must be very small in size. FIG. 1 illustrates a ring 101 as an example jewelry item which has been tagged with or strapped to a small label 103. Typically the label 103 has product information and pricing information printed or written on it.
When displayed, the jewelry items (with their associated labels) are placed in preset locations for optimum viewing. Each jewelry item is placed on an individual display stand or in a unique slot on a display tray for aesthetic viewing. The label, with pricing information, is inserted into special pockets or cavities in the stand or tray to put it out of sight.
By way of example only, according to the present invention, FIG. 2A illustrates a display assembly 200, which includes a display unit, such as a ring mount 201, used for displaying a ring 101. The ring 101 is pressed into a slot or pocket 202 on the ring mount 201 for easy or aesthetic viewing. FIG. 2B illustrates the ring mount 201 in cross section view 204. The ring 101 and the ring's label 103 are pressed into the pocket 202. The label 103 is pressed deeper to the bottom of the pocket in order to be out of sight. FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a display tray 302 used for supporting and displaying ring mounts 201. The tray 302 is placed in a display case for viewing and rests on the display case floor 301.
FIG. 4A illustrates another example of a display assembly 400 having a display unit, such as a ring display tray 401, used for displaying multiple rings 101. The rings 101 are inserted into pockets 402 on the tray 401 for easy viewing. FIG. 4B illustrates the ring mount 401 in cross section view 403. The rings 101 and the ring labels' 103 are pressed into the pocket 402. The label 103 is pressed deeper to the bottom of the pockets 402, in order to be out of sight, and lie flat on the base of the tray 401. The display tray 401 is placed in a display case for viewing and rests on the display case floor 301.
FIG. 5A illustrates another example of a display assembly 500 having a display unit, such as a necklace stand 501, used for displaying a high value necklace 502. FIG. 5B illustrates a cross sectional view 504 of the necklace stand 501. Excess chain of the necklace 502 is placed in a pocket 503 at the back top of the stand 501 and the necklace's label 103 that is strapped to the necklace 502 is placed in a separate pocket 506 also at the back top of the stand 501. The stand 501 is placed in a display case (referenced later in description) for viewing, and the stand 501 rests on the display case floor 301.
FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate another example of a display assembly 600 having a display unit, such as display cabinets 601, with various mounts 201, trays 302 & 401 and stands 501 for jewelry items 101 & 502. The various mounts 201, trays 302 & 401 and stands 501 rest on the floor 301 of the cabinets 601. The various jewelry items 101 & 502 are viewed through a transparent top 603. An interrogation antenna 604 is typically located under floor 301, as will be described later herein.
FIG. 6C illustrates an example process flow for a jewelry business. At jewelry factories 605 items of jewelry 607 are made by jewelers, craftsmen or machines 606. These items have printed labels 103 (not shown) and are packed in bulk into transport boxes 608 and are transported to a storage and distribution facility 614. Upon arrival they are unpacked, checked, counted and sorted into bulk storage 609. Upon receipt of orders from jewelry stores 615 the ordered items 610 are picked from the storage bins 609, checked, counted and packed into bulk transport boxes 611 for despatch to the jewelry stores 615. When the transport boxes 611 arrive at the jewelry stores 615 they are unpacked, checked, counted and placed in storage 613 inside a secure vault 612. Jewelry items 607 are moved from the secure storage 612 to be individually displayed in display cabinets 601.
In considering applications of RFID technology in jewelry manufacture, warehousing and/or retail sales, the inventors have realised that many of the label locations and orientations in jewelry mounts, trays and stands are considered undesirable for reliable RFID tag operation. For example, referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, in particular, the tags are either too far removed from the display floor 301, where the interrogator antennas would be located or poorly oriented to collect sufficient interrogation field. The inventors have also realised that any RFID tag applied to jewelry must be stackable to enable the bulk identification of tagged jewelry during manufacturing and warehousing and at other times when two or more tagged items are close together.
The inventors have realised that relatively small stackable RFID tags have limited application when placed individually on shelving for display purposes due to the distance and/or orientation between the RFID tag and an associated interrogator antenna.
The inventors have also realised that there is a need to address the operating range of small stackable RFID tags when they are placed on display in the pre-set locations and in an undesirable orientation, and for example, relatively small items such as jewelry. The inventors have also realised that the individual display stands and the display trays (in jewelry applications) are moveable and any solution would need to work regardless of the position of the display mount, stand or tray in the display cabinet.
The inventors have also realised that a resonant RFID tag antenna cannot be used in stacking situations or in close proximity to other tags because when brought close together for bulk handling, resonant RFID tags will parasitically couple together.
The inventor is aware of the disclosure of US2009/0289773 A1 in which the stacking height of stackable tags is increased by including a ferrite core in the centre of each tag. When stacked, these cores line up creating a column of ferrite and thereby conducting the excitation field from the bottom of the stack up to the tags at the top of the stack. This disclosure however has limited practical application as the multiple tags need to be precisely stacked on top of each other, there are operational limits to the height or the number of tags which can be stacked as each tag added to the stack consumes some of the field required by tags placed further up the stack and each tag includes a ferrite core which is considered to be expensive, thick and heavy compared to a tag without any ferrite core material.
The inventor is aware of the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,608 in which the coupling to a small RFID tag is improved by adding a larger parasitic antenna, also known as an auxiliary antenna, attached to the item being identified. The item being identified is much bigger than the tag and the auxiliary antenna is again much bigger than the tag antenna. In the case of U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,608 the items beings identified are bales. The auxiliary antenna is built into the bale strap and the tag is incorporated into the strap buckle. This is advantageous when the interrogator antenna is small and upon being moved close to the bale the interrogation signal couples into the parasitic antenna. In antenna terms the parasitic (or auxiliary antenna) becomes an extension of the interrogator antenna extending its size and reach to the smaller RFID tag. This disclosure however is not considered suitable for applications where the tag is attached to relatively small items as it relies on the auxiliary antenna having an area larger than the RFID tag in order to collect more of the interrogation field. Often relatively smaller items have a strict size limit on any associated tag or label and thus any additional auxiliary antenna is often to be avoided or cannot be larger than the RFID tag.
The inventor is aware of the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,105 in which an RFID tag is made using one or more concentric tuned antenna coils with the centrally located RFID chip coupled to the tuned coil(s) using a small untuned coil. The disclosed construction shows that the high mechanical precision required for working with the very small RFID chip is only required for the chip and its small coil. The remainder of the tag's much larger tuned coil(s) can be manufactured using much less stringent mechanical tolerances. However, a resonant RFID tag antenna is not considered suitable for bulk processing or storage as resonant RFID tags will parasitically couple together and thus cannot work stacked.
It should be noted that throughout this specification the use of the word “inventor” in singular form may be taken as reference to one (singular) inventor as or more than one (plural) inventors of the present invention.
It is to be appreciated that any discussion of documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the present invention. Further, the discussion throughout this specification comes about due to the realisation of the inventor and/or the identification of certain related art problems by the inventor. Moreover, any discussion of material such as documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the invention in terms of the inventor's knowledge and experience and, accordingly, any such discussion should not be taken as an admission that any of the material forms part of the prior art base or the common general knowledge in the relevant art in Australia, or elsewhere, on or before the priority date of the disclosure and claims herein.